Hajimari no Niina

I'd been on the hunt for a good Shoujo manga, before this story I read a few boring ones that didn't leave much of an impression on me. I came across this one and read the reviews (all that highly praised this manga btw) So I decided to pick it up and read it AND BOY I"M SO HAPPY I DID. Hajimari no Niina made me ~almost cry (I sucked it up because I was reading it at work) I'm not crazy about romances with a huge age gap, at some point in the manga I was rooting for another guy, but I quickly endedup going back on atsurous side. Overall I LOVED this. The art was great, characters were unique, and the story was different than your typical slice of life. If you are reading this, I do hope you pick this up. Its short and worth it.

Normally, a story about a dead girl is a sad one. But what if she was reborn again, in a 10 year old girl body? Story 6/10 : I would have given the story a 9 if it weren't for the big age gap between the heroine and her love interest (15 years !). I'm also in high school, so I kept on imagining if I were dating a thirty years old guy, and the idea made me feel so sick. If it was treated as something normal in the manga, I would have dropped it or didn't even bother reading it. But the thing is, itwasn't. The high school girl is in soul the same age as the male hero, but she died at the age of 15 and was reborn in a smaller body. Think re incarnation, rebirth, and past life. Characters 9/10 : The characters are what made this manga worth reading. Their interactions were realistic, they felt human. I almost cried in some moments. It was so sweet : their emotions, their feelings, their past, their logic. The only flaw is that side characters were not expored enough. Art 8/10 : While it's not excellent or top notch, it was TOO CUTE, especially Niina. The boys were handsome also. Enjoyment 9/10 : I finished this manga in one sitting, so the least I can say is that I enjoyed it too much. Overall : 8/10 : If you love innocent, sweet, romance, free of unecessary drama and misunderstandings, this one is for you!

At first I was reluctant to read this manga because of the whole "past life" aspect. However, this manga is extremely beautiful and definitely worth your time. Unlike most shoujo manga, it is not 100% cliche (for example falling onto one another) and the romance is sweet, slow, and subtle. The characters also do not fit into the regular shoujo manga mold. For example, the mc realizes her immaturity and reflects on it. The male character is very smart and understanding too, and lets the mc find her own path in life. The other characters are also well developed. The "past life" part is actuallyvery sad (at least to me), and is one of the manga's strengths because it helps get one of its main themes across (and it made me cry a lot). Also, there are only 19 chapters avaliable(at least on kissmanga). Overall, I rate this manga 9/10! This is also my first review, so sorry for the disorganization.